Cut and Restored DollarBill Magic Tutorial

This is one of the most baffling dollar bill tricks ever! I first saw this cool illusion performed by  Lee petrucci on you tube .

It was an immediate crowd pleaser, peoples eyes stood out on storks and I have to admit it got me scratching my head too!

THE EFFECT: The magician displays two bank notes and shows them openly back and front for all to see.

The magician places them back to back, he/she then cuts through the centre of both notes with a pair of scissors - the notes are clearly seen to be cut into four halves. No mistaking that!

Without any suspicious moves, the magician instantly open both halves
to show the notes restored to their original condition, astonishing!

• One of the coolest dollar bill tricks
• You can let a spectator cut the notes!
• Astonishing magic that is EASY to perform!
• No tricky slight of hand needed
• Can be viewed from any angle
- perform surrounded

THE SECRET: This is one of the greatest dollar bill tricks, it's an excellent ‘cut and restored’ illusion that is really effective when performed with real money. You can use play money, fake money, blank cheques or any form of printed paper about the size of regular currency.

So what's the secret right! Actually I can't tell you....Just kidding :-)
First you need some secret preparation.

Place two nearly new bills face
down on a table. Apply a thin
layer of rubber cement, about
half an inch wide, down the
centre of the back of each note.

When this is dry, add a second
coat of rubber cement and allow
that to dry also. (Pic 1) What's rubber cement? see
TIP 1 HERE.

Next, sprinkle a little talcum powder (baby powder) on the cement covered area on each bill. Spread the powder over the entire surface of the cement with your finger or a soft brush.

You will notice the treated areas of both bills will not stick to each other because of the powdered surface. Put the bills in your wallet/purse or on the table and you are ready to perform this very clever close up effect!

THE METHOD: Begin by removing the two prepared notes from your wallet/purse and casually showing both sides of the notes. Place them back to back as shown in (Pic 2 & 3).

We will call the note nearest you Note A and the one nearest the spectators Note B Square up both notes. Be sure that the cemented areas are touching each other.

Hold both notes with the thumb and finger of your left hand as shown in (Pic 4). With your right hand holding the scissors, carefully cut through the center
of both notes.

Make sure that you cut within the areas covered by the cement stripes. Done openly and deliberately, there will be no question in the audiences mind that both bills have been cut in half - which they have! (Pic 5).

Place the scissors aside. Grasp the halves on the right sides of the cut in your right hand (one half of Note A and one half of Note B) and the left side’s two halves (the other two halves of Note A and Note B) in your left hand.

With the thumb and fingers of both hands, separate the halves of the notes (Pic 6), and shake them open (Pic 7).

Because of the rubber cement, the halves in each hand will stick together at the cut edges giving the illusion that the four half notes have fused together to form two complete notes once again!

The reason this is one of the greatest dollar bill tricks in my mind is because the spectators see and hear the notes being cut, so it is that much more unbelievable when they are 'restored' people freak!

TIP 1: Depending where you live in the world rubber cement (a type of craft glue) can be easy or hard to get hold of. For example if you live in the US you're OK. Any hardware store should stock it.

For people in the UK and other countries good product is hard to find. I suggest eBay if you have any troubles. ------>

TIP 2: Done well, this ‘quickie’ is a real eyepopper! First practice with stage money or with newspaper cut to the size of bank notes. This way you will find out just how much rubber cement and talcum powder to apply. You can then try it with real notes.

TIP 3: The real notes should be new and crisp (maybe from a cash ‘ATM’ machine) and fit together neatly for pics 3 and 4.

TIP 4: Don’t worry about losing money when using real notes, as the halves can be stuck together with transparent sticky tape, just as with any torn notes.

TIP 5: The higher the currency value the bigger the effect becomes
be really brave and use £50 notes! (or equivalent).

TIP 6: As an alternative method you could let a spectator cut the notes just make sure you hold the notes tight and get them to cut in the centre (where the rubber cement is!)

This is one of the easiest dollar bill tricks to perform but remember to practice, practice, practice and have fun with it - it’s a great little illusion that never fails to amaze!

Coin in Balloon Magic Tutorial

Scary optical illusions! This trick is a variation on an effect I saw Paul Daniels perform on his 90's TV show 'Secrets'. You may well remember it!

THE EFFECT: The magician shows an ordinary blown up balloon and two coins. The magician asks a spectator to choose a coin. Whichever one they choose the magician proceeds to penetrate the spectators chosen coin into the balloon.

There is no mistake the coin really is inside the balloon. The magician shakes the balloon and the coin can be seen bouncing around inside. The magician slowly lets the balloon down and removes the coin from inside. Watch the effect below then learn the secret...

 

THE SECRET: For one of my favourite scary optical illusions you are going to need to make a special gimmick. All you need is an ordinary coin (in my example a 2 pence piece) and a fridge freezer magnet. These magnets are usually quite thin making them perfect for this effect.

Alternatively you can use some magnetic paper as I have used. Glue the small disc magnet to the back of the coin and you are set. You are also going to need two smaller coins (that are attracted to the magnet) in my example two one pence pieces and an ordinary balloon. If possible a clear balloon is perfect, alternatively a white balloon or a strong light source behind the balloon should work also.

TIP: Having trouble finding magnetic coins in your currency? You should be able to buy magnetic coins from your local magic store.

To set up the trick place one of the smaller coins into the balloon and blow it up. Hold the balloon tight so it doesn't go down (no need to tie it). Place the larger magnet gimmick coin against the coin in the balloon at the bottom and allow them to stick (pic 1). You should then be able to turn the balloon upside down so the larger coin is on top and secretly inside the balloon is the smaller coin magnetized to the underside of the larger coin (pic 2). Place the second smaller coin on top of the balloon too and you are set!

 Show your spectator the balloon with two coins on top of it. Ask them to pick a coin. Whichever one they choose pick up the smaller coin to do the trick with. If they pick the larger coin say "Right that's your coin, so I will do the trick with my coin" (and pick up the smaller coin). If they choose the smaller coin say "Ok watch me do something cool with your chosen coin". Either way the spectator will think they have chosen the coin for the trick!

Take the smaller coin and tap it lightly on the balloon a few times. On the third or so tap hit the larger coin firmly but not too hard. The smaller coin that is magnetized to the bottom of the larger coin will fall from under the coin into the balloon and into the spectators sight.

At the exact same time use this misdirection to either hide the coin you have in your hand or simply clip it (pic 3) between your forefinger and middle finger (hidden). This then makes the hand look empty when your palm is facing you. Remove the larger coin from the balloon, being careful not to show the underside of the coin where the magnet is. You can just leave it on the table. The spectator has no reason to inspect it as all attention will be on the balloon.

Shake the balloon a few times to show the coin really is inside. You can then either pop the balloon to get the coin out or slowly let the air out and get the spectator to remove the coin. As you casually place the larger coin into your pocket you can drop the duplicate smaller coin in too.

Why is this one of my favourite scary optical illusions? Because if the balloon pops you make your audience scream!! :-)                                 

COIN THROUGH BOTTLE TUTORIAL

THE EFFECT: You take an ordinary drinks bottle and empty the contents. You then ask to borrow a coin from a spectator. Holding the bottle in one hand and the coin in the other you slam the coin into the bottom of the bottle. Bam! The coin penetrates into the bottle.

It is CLEARLY seen inside. There is no way to get it out, the coin is too big to be removed from the bottle neck! You can give it to a spectator to examine, or they can keep it for a souvenir. Alternatively you can cut the bottle open to remove the coin! - One of the coolest free coin magic tricks around!

• You can perform this with the bottle top
• Bottle can be examined
• Real coin used - not fake and not gaffed

Watch a video of the effect below, then learn the secret to another one of my favourite free coin magic tricks (yes I have many!).

Have you worked out how to do one of the coolest free coin magic tricks yet? Please read on to learn the secrets or click here for other free coin magic tricks.

THE SECRET: You'd be forgiven for thinking this free coin magic trick is the same as the Coin in Can illusion but it's not. It has a totally different secret and method. For this trick you are going to need a small magnet. Preferably a Neodymium Magnet (Neodymium Magnets are the most powerful magnets in the world. They are fantastically strong making them perfect for free coin magic tricks.)

These magnets can be bought really cheaply on the net, try a good old Google search below. Stuck as to what size to get? I use 6mm dia x 3mm Neodymium Magnets. They are perfect for this trick and the Spinning Coins Trick, in which two coins magically stick together then spin.

 
(To search the web click on the web radio button after you click search)

It is the magnet which holds the coin inside the bottle, hidden behind the label. So how does the coin get in the bottle? You have to put it there before you perform.

To prepare for the trick you are going to need a clear plastic drinks bottle. Empty the contents into a glass or container, you will need it later. When the bottle is empty you need to peel back the label at the join slightly to reveal the plastic.

Then with a very sharp scalpel or scissors cut a small slit large enough for a two pence piece to fit through (pic 1). Push a two pence piece (or any magnetic coin) into the bottle. Any coin smaller than a two pence piece is not great to use as they can fit through the neck of the bottle defeating the purpose of this impossible looking illusion.

When the coin is in the bottle simply stick the label back together. Usually the labels are quite sticky and no extra glue is required, but if you wish you can glue the label back on (pic 2). If you happen to carry a penknife around with you then this illusion becomes quite impromptu as this set up only takes a few minutes.

Next lay the bottle on its side and position the coin in the middle of the label, then place the magnet against the bottle to hold the coin there (pic 3). You should now find that because the magnet is so strong you can wave the bottle around or even turn it up side down and the coin will stay put. The last step to prepare the bottle is to pour some of the contents back into the bottle, just below the slit (to prevent any possible leaks).

THE METHOD: Take the prepared bottle and show it to your audience, make sure the magnet is facing towards your body away from the spectators. You can place your thumb over the magnet to hide it (pic 4). The magnet is quite small so it should not be a problem to keep it out of sight. Try and remenber to handle the bottle naturally as if it is just any normal bottle.

TIP: Always show the bottle front on where the lable provides cover. Never turn it to the side (end on) or the hidden coin will be seen!

An advanced move at this stage is to turn the bottle by its base while still holding the magnet against the bottle. This will cause the magnet and coin to stay still while the bottle turns between them (pic 5). This move seemingly shows the whole bottle to the spectators and can look very natural and convincing. This does take practice though!

Remove the top of the bottle and pour the contents onto the floor or into a glass, make sure the coin is above the liquid and it will pass right under the coin. Pouring the liquid out emphasises the fact that there is nothing in the bottle and that it is completely normal.

Once the bottle is empty ask to borrow a two pence piece. Take this in the palm of one hand and the bottle in the other. Slam the coin onto the bottom of the bottle (pic 6) hard enough to dislodge the coin from the magnet which will fall to the bottom of the bottle. Because this is done so fast the spectators will not see the coin drop.

At this point all the attention is focussed on the coin in the bottle, which looks amazing. So just close your other hand with the coin in ‘palming’ the spectators coin. If you are sat at a table simply drop the coin into your lap, or secretly place it into your pocket.
       When the coin drops from the magnet make sure you keep your thumb on the magnet, so it does not fall as well. If you press the magnet firmly against the bottle during the trick you should find that when you take your thumb off the bottle to hand it to the spectators to examine the magnet will stay stuck to your thumb (pic 7).

You can get rid of the magnet too, in a pocket if you wish. But it is so small and the spectators are not actively looking for a magnet. So I usually just keep it concealed in my hand.

You can let the spectators examine or even keep the bottle, after all the secret is cleverly hidden, that's why it's one of the cooler free coin magic tricks. If you don't want the spectators to keep the bottle you can cut it open with scissors or a knife at the point where the small slit is, which would then get rid of any evidence. You can then hand back the coin.
ALTERNATIVE HANDLING: With many of these free coin magic tricks I like to give you a variety of ways to perform the trick. This one is no exception. If you wish you can perform the effect with the bottle top. All that's needed is a bit more preparation. First thing you will need is an identical bottle top. You then need to ‘shim’ it. This means to make it magnetic. There are a number of ways to do this.

The easiest way is to glue a one pence piece into the top. This will pass casual examination and performance but would not hold up to close scrutiny. Alternatively some plastic bottle tops have a plastic insert, if you first remove this you can place a small piece of metal like a paper clip into the cap then glue the plastic insert back in.

Once this is inside the bottle even close inspection will not reveal anything. If you are going to use a bottle top for the performance the slit you cut into the bottle will obviously have to be slightly larger.

TIP: If you find that handling the magnet and palming the coin at the same time is too complicated you can purchase a magnetic finger ring. Often known as PK rings. That way you have the magnet on your finger, so it’s in your hand at all times.

Alternatively the small magnet can be glued under the bottle label, then you do not need to worry about handling the magnet. Although with this method you may not want to give away the bottle!

IMPROMPTU METHOD: Like impromptu free coin magic tricks? You can perform a sililar effect without using a magnet. This method is cool because the spectator can examine the bottle before the trick.

First hand them the bottle top to look at, when they are happy hand them the bottle, while they are looking at the bottle secretly place a small coin like a one pence piece into the lid. You can also distact them by saying something like "Get into the bottle and have a look around" This usually gets a laugh. Take back the bottle and screw the lid on keeping the bottle tilted toward the floor so the coin stays hidden in the cap.

Borrow a one pence piece and slam it into the bottom tilting the bottle back upright in the process, so the coin falls from the lid and comes into view. Then secretly get rid of the coin in your hand in a pocket or onto your lap if you are sat at a table.

This is one of the cooler impromptu free coin magic tricks but it relies on the fact that the coin can fit into the bottle neck, so the impact is not quite as good as the main illusion above. But still a nice trick! Have fun with these free coin magic tricks and as always practice!